✿ ✿
"Are you sure, baby?" Horace asked teasingly, his voice carrying that deep, playful warmth that always melted her heart.
Ariel giggled softly, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Yes, dear mate."
Horace blinked, then burst into laughter, his rich voice echoing through the room. "Oh my love, you are so unique!"
"Hmm," Ariel hummed shyly, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.
"Well, in your story," Horace began thoughtfully, "you mentioned wanting to get admitted into the university. But because of what happened, you missed it. What if… you continued?"
Ariel blinked, unsure she'd heard him right. "It's too late already," she said with a hopeless sigh. "Besides, the scholarship must have been cancelled by now, and my mates are probably in their second year."
Horace chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "Seriously, baby? You could still be in the same level as well."
"That's not possible," she murmured, looking away.
